


The Crystal of Neahtid

by PopcornFairy28



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alive Daegal, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arthur Pendragon Lives (Merlin), Canon Relationships, Companion piece to my fic The Golden Years, Could be read without it though, Everyone knows about Merlin's magic, F/M, Gen, Gwaine Lives (Merlin), watching the show fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:27:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24342052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PopcornFairy28/pseuds/PopcornFairy28
Summary: After Merlin saved Arthur from dying by the sword forged in a dragon's breath, he decides to show him and the rest of the remaining Original Round Table (plus Daegal) all the times he saved him and Camelot… among other things. In the process, everyone critiques their and their enemies' past decisions.
Relationships: Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 48





	1. Prologue

_Just as Arthur opened the door, he declared, "I want all of you at my chambers for dinner. And, Merlin, bring that crystal."_

*****

So, that was how Merlin, Arthur, Guinevere, Gwaine, Leon, Percival, Gaius, and Daegal found themselves in the royal chambers, settled comfortably after dinner ready with the Crystal of Neahtid sitting in front of them on a table.

When Arthur had requested them to come to his chambers, he had been very irritated, but now in expectation of seeing just how Merlin cheated at their iconic mace fight, he was in a much better mood.

They were in the bedchambers and the door was locked so nobody would be disturbing them. Merlin quickly ensured that nobody could eavesdrop as well by putting up a few silencing spells.

Gaius, Leon, and Percival sat in chairs and Arthur and Gwen sat on their bed while Merlin, Gwaine, and Daegal reclined on the floor.

"So," Merlin started, "Everybody ready?"

Everyone nodded, staring at the crystal.

"This is how it's going to work. I'm going to display the images on the crystal then expand the image and amplify the sounds coming from it. We're going to mostly watch from my memory, but I will pull from other people's memories in order to make the main memory more cohesive. I don't entirely know what it's going to show, so we'll see. We've come up with over sixty main memories. We'll start with my first few days in Camelot. Gwaine and I have called this episode, 'The Dragon's Call'."

*****

**Author's Note**

There's the prologue. It's very short.

This is a companion piece to my fic The Golden Years, set between chapters 13 and 14 of that, but if you didn't come from that and don't feel like reading it that's completely fine. You should be able to read this without being too confused.

If you did come from The Golden Years, you can skip over this paragraph to the next. If you didn't come from that fic, here's some context. Merlin saved Arthur's life in the Diamond of the Day by using the power of life and death, swapping Morgana's life with Arthur's life. Gwaine lived, and Daegal never died in The Hollow Queen. He's now Gaius's new apprentice, although Merlin still has his bedroom. Eira was just an innocent girl and not a spy, so she and Gwaine are currently in a relationship, but she herself makes no appearance in this fic. Everyone in the room knows about Merlin's magic, but magic is still in the process of being made legal. Guinevere is pregnant with twins. Then, lastly, Merlin and Gwaine experimented with the crystal in order to display the episodes, and Gwaine came up with the titles of the episodes.

If you have any requests for a certain reaction to something in an upcoming episode, just leave them in the comments. I won't guarantee that I will put it in (it may not just seem to fit) but I promise I will try and I will read every request!

The next chapter (aka the first episode) will be coming Friday!


	2. The Dragon's Call

_"We'll start with my first few days in Camelot. Gwaine and I have called this episode, 'The Dragon's Call'."_

*****

Merlin thrust his hand towards the crystal and manipulated it to show specific images.

_Merlin is walking to Camelot from Ealdor._

"You walked the whole way there?" Arthur asked, surprised.

Merlin shrugged, "It's not like I could take a horse. I never really rode one until I came to Camelot. Besides, we walked most of the way there when Morgana took over the second time."

_It zooms in on Merlin trudging through the woods._

"Whoa! You look so young there, mate!" Gwaine exclaimed.

"How old were you all?" asked Percival.

"Eighteen," Merlin answered.

"Almost twenty-one," Arthur replied.

"Nineteen," Gwen said.

_It pans around to show Camelot during a glorious sunset. It looks beautiful._

Everyone smiled at their home.

"I'm glad that was your first view of Camelot," Arthur declared.

Merlin nodded, remembering how he'd felt back then seeing his first castle in person.

_The crystal then flashes to a short clip, starting with the hilt of Excalibur. The scene changes drastically from that to Merlin's face with his eyes glowing, then a horse, then knights fighting, then fire, then a flag, then a creepy guy, then some knights, then quick flashes, the most memorable being a snake biting, then the Afanc, then lastly Kilgharrah flying. Meanwhile, words pop up on the screen reading, "Memories of Merlin Emrys Ambrosius, Guinevere Pendragon, Arthur Pendragon, Morgana Pendragon, Uther Pendragon, and Gaius. Additional memories from Hunith Ambrosius, Mary Collins, and Lady Helen of Mora."_

_It expands to showing Camelot and reads, "The Adventures of Merlin."_

"That was interesting," Leon remarked.

"Yeah," Arthur agreed. "What was that exactly?"

"Dunno," Merlin shrugged. "I guess it was a kind of general overview of my adventures while showing who's memories it was pulling from."

_Merlin enters Camelot and is incredibly amazed. He walks through the lower town, looking around everywhere._

_Merlin grins as he is right outside of the citadel. The view spins around to show the castle in the background._

_He sees a lot of people heading to the courtyard and hears horns. He enters the courtyard. He is still smiling as he doesn't immediately understand what is going on. An execution is taking place._

Arthur, Guinevere, and Leon shuddered, instantly recognizing the drums.

"Lords, Merlin, the first thing you saw in Camelot was an execution?" gasped Arthur.

Merlin simply nodded.

"I'm surprised you didn't run back home. I would have," Guinevere admitted.

Merlin gave no response, and everyone continued watching silently.

_Thomas James Collins is led out to the block and Merlin seems to realize what is happening, as his smile disappears._

_Uther begins speaking, and Merlin looks up at him. Arthur is nowhere to be seen._

"Where were you, Arthur? Weren't you supposed to be there as Prince?" Gwaine asked, eyeing the King suspiciously.

"Uhhh," Arthur decided to confess. "I may not have been exactly the best Prince back then."

"You skipped it?" Percival asked, shocked.

Arthur nodded, "And not just that. But I didn't particularly like to watch executions."

_"Let this serve as a lesson to all. This man, Thomas James Collins, is judged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic. And pursuant to the Laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned, on penalty of death. I pride myself as a fair and just king, but on the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass."_

_It is shown that Morgana is watching the execution from a window._

"Even I didn't want to watch that execution," Arthur pointed out. "Why did she?"

"Uther probably made her," Gwen suggested softly.

_Thomas James Collins is placed on the block and everyone turns to look at him rather than the king._

_It zooms in on Morgana, who seems to be unsure of whether she wants to watch. Uther raises his hand and drops it, the executioner chops Thomas James Collins's head off._

_A lot of people look away, including Morgana, but Merlin just grimaces._

_Uther continues, "When I came to this land, this kingdom was mired in chaos."_

"Wait," Merlin said. "The Pendragons weren't even from Camelot originally?"

"They were close by, hence how my father conquered it," Arthur explained.

_"But with the people's help, magic was driven from the realm."_

Gwaine snorted, "Yes, totally, magic was driven from the land. That's why you just had an execution of a supposed sorcerer and completely missed the fact that your son's manservant that you appointed is a warlock."

_"So I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured,"_

Merlin visibly bristled at this comment but uttered no sound.

_"And Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery! Let the celebrations begin!"_

_Immediately, a woman's cry broke through the crowd. Everyone turned towards Mary Collins. People start to back away from her and Uther stares at her._

_"There is only one evil in this land and it is not magic," she declares. "It is you!"_

_Some people are backing up cautiously while others are stepping forward with either sympathetic or curious looks._

_"With your hatred and your ignorance," she points towards the execution block, "You took my son! And I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a son for a son!"_

"She does have a point," Gwaine stated, "But that is completely the wrong way of doing it. The blame is with the father, not the son, and so should the punishment be."

Everyone nodded, agreeing.

_"Seize her!" Uther ordered, pointing._

_Mary Collins grabs her necklace and starts to incant something in a weird tone of voice that it is even too difficult for current Merlin to decipher what she says._

_The result, however, is easy to see. Winds rush around her and she disappears. She has teleported._

_Uther leaves. Morgana closes her window._

_Everyone disperses, and Merlin holds onto his pack again, heading for a tower._

_He enters through a doorway and asks a guard, "Uh, where would I find Gaius, the Court Physician?"_

"It's strange to think of you not knowing that," Daegal admitted, shaking his head. "Or just being new to Camelot in general. You know it so well now, better than most."

"I've had to learn it," Merlin responded. "What with living with Gaius, being Arthur's servant, and saving the kingdom so many times."

_"In there," the guard points helpfully._

_Merlin opens the door and reads a sign saying, "Court Physician". He walks up the steps._

_He finds the door and knocks._

_He peeks his head in and calls, "Hello?"_

_He gets no response. He just walks in anyway. He is supposed to live there, after all._

_He walks slowly in, looking around at all the weird stuff and repeating, "Hello?"_

"It's also strange seeing you not used to these chambers," Daegal commented.

_Eventually, he spots Gaius up with his books on the rickety platform and asks, "Gaius?"_

_Gaius doesn't hear him, so Merlin then loudly clears his throat. Gaius hears that and turns around, but he accidentally falls through the weak railing and would quite possibly fall to his death._

Everyone gasped at this except Gaius and Merlin, who knew exactly what happened.

_Merlin's eyes flash gold and times slows down incredibly. He looks around, trying to find something to soften Gaius's fall. He spots the cot and moves it over with another flash of his eyes._

_Time goes back to normal and Gaius lands on the cot, a little harshly but he isn't injured._

Everyone who had gasped cheered at this.

_"How the… What did you just do?" Gaius demands._

_"Ummm…." Merlin is at a loss of words._

_"Tell me!" Gaius demands again, getting up from the cot._

_"I… I… I… have no idea what happened," Merlin stammered, trying to lie._

_Gaius doesn't believe him for a second and continues, "If anyone had seen that…"_

_"No! That… That was nothing to do with me. That was…" Merlin continues to try to deny it._

"Merlin," Arthur shook his head fondly, "I'm not sure whether I should be grateful or worried that you've gotten much better at lying. Probably grateful, because if you hadn't you would be dead."

"Thanks," Merlin laughed.

_"I know what it was," Gaius declares, "I just want to know where you learnt how to do it."_

_"Nowhere," Merlin answers honestly._

_Gaius tries to point out, thinking that Merlin is still lying, "So how is it you know magic?"_

_"I don't," Merlin answers, looking frustrated and flustered. It isn't a lie from his perspective, but it should probably be clarified._

_Gaius tries again, "Where did you study? Answer me!"_

_"I don’t… I've never studied magic or been taught," Merlin answers yet again truthfully._

_"Are you lying to me, boy?" Gaius asks, getting menacingly closer to him._

"Unfortunately, no," Merlin laughed.

_"What do you want me to say?" Merlin asks, confused._

_"The truth," Gaius answers._

"He is," Guinevere commented.

_"I was born like this," Merlin tries to explain._

_"That's impossible," Gaius dismisses._

"Or not," Gwaine whistled.

_"Who are you?" Gaius then asks, seeming less angry with him, anyway._

_"Oh, ummm," Merlin pulls his pack off, and searches it, "I have this letter." He hands Gaius the letter, which he takes._

_"I don't have my glasses," Gaius admits._

"You're in your chambers, where else would they be?" Leon points out.

"You have no idea," Merlin declared, shaking his head.

_"I'm Merlin," Merlin says, breathing a little heavily._

_Gaius recognizes the name and asks," Hunith's son?"_

"Finally!" Arthur exclaimed, exasperated.

_"Yes!" Merlin grins and nods eagerly._

_"But you're not meant to be here til Wednesday," Gaius declares._

_Merlin's grin drops as he states, "It is… Wednesday…"_

Everybody burst out laughing while Gaius looked embarrassed.

_"Ah," Gaius says, "Alright then… Well, you'd better put your bag in there." He points towards the room in the back._

_Merlin moves towards his bedroom, then stops and turns around, asking, "You won't say anything about… umm.." he gestures towards the mess._

_"No," Gaius assures him._

_Merlin then turns around and starts to head back into his new chambers._

_"Although, Merlin," Gaius calls to him. Merlin turns back around. "I should say thank you."_

_Merlin doesn't respond, just kind of shrugs, and moves into the room._

_The crystal then shows that it is nighttime, and Merlin is in his bedroom with candles burning. He sets his pack down beside the bed and sits down on the cot. He looks around._

"I bet that was strange," Arthur said. "Being uprooted from your farming village and moved into a new city where you don't know anyone, with your own chambers and a bed."

"It was," Merlin agreed.

_Merlin spots the window and moves towards it. He steps onto the table that is below it so that he can look out of it._

_You can hear the people, apparently celebrating the festival, before Merlin has even opened the window. He looks out in marvel. The castle and town lay below him, many houses still with their lanterns lit, while the moon is shining._

"It certainly looks beautiful from there. I’m jealous," Gwaine declared. Everyone chuckled.

_Merlin smiles at it all._

_Hunith's voice comes on and it shows her writing the letter that Gaius is now reading._

_"My dear Gaius, I turn to you for I feel lost and alone and don't know who to trust. It is every mother's fate to think her child is special, and yet I would give my life that Merlin were not so."_

"It is hard being special," Arthur admitted, thinking of his own "specialness". "People expect something different of you."

_"Ours is a small village, and he is so clearly at odds with people here that, if he were to remain, I fear what would become of him."_

_It shows Merlin sleeping in Ealdor as Hunith is writing the letter._

_Hunith's voice continues, "He needs a hand to hold, a voice to guide, someone that might help him find a purpose for his gifts."_

Merlin smiled, "I certainly found that purpose."

_"I beg you, if you understand a mother's love for her son, keep him safe and may God save you both."_

_Gaius finishes the letter, glancing at Merlin's door and placing down his glasses._

_The crystal switches to looking at the executioner's block through a window. A door is heard opening._

_It then shows Morgana is standing by the window, looking out, as the door is heard closing. Footsteps._

_Then it shows Uther is heading towards Morgana._

_"Morgana?" he calls._

_"Yes?" she asks, pulling away from the window._

_"What is this?" he asks not unkindly. "Why are you not joining us at the feast?"_

_Morgana stares at him and responds coldly, "I just don't think chopping someone's head off is cause for a celebration."_

"She's got a point," Gwaine stated.

_Uther seems to have slightly expected this and briefly glances out of the window._

_"That poor mother," she adds._

_Uther declares, "It was simple justice for what he'd done."_

_"To whom?" she asks. "He practiced some magic. He didn't hurt anyone."_

"She's got another point," Gwaine piped up.

"Yes, yes, we get it, Gwaine, everyone's got a point," Arthur rolled his eyes.

_"You were not around 20 years ago, you have no idea what it was like," Uther immediately responds, his expression hardening._

_"How long are you going to keep punishing people for what happened then?" she demands instantly._

_"Until they realize there is no room for magic in my kingdom," he fires back. "You will be with me when I greet Lady Helen."_

"I wasn't," Arthur pointed out. "I was at the feast though. I think I didn't get in trouble for missing things because I didn't argue with Father as much, though."

_"I told you, I want no part of these…" she protests._

_Uther sharply turns around and chastises her, "I am your guardian."_

"Actually, you're her father," Gwaine "helpfully" pointed out.

"That just makes it worse," Leon sighed.

_"I expect you to do as I ask. If you show me no respect, at least respect our finest singer," he then turns to leave._

_"You know, the more brutal you are, the more enemies you'll create," she yells after him._

"She's got a-" Gwaine started.

"Shhhhhh!" Arthur shushed him, annoyed.

_Uther's steps become louder and more rapid._

_He goes back into the feast and Morgana resumes looking out the window._

_The scene changes to a camp with a tent._

_The scene goes inside the tent, and there is Lady Helen, humming and doing something with her hair._

_A twig snaps and there are just general creepy sounds outside._

_"Hello?" she calls, frightened. A shadow is walking across the tent, outside._

_"Gregory?" she calls out._

_Gregory opens the tent flap and greets her, "Lady Helen."_

_"Is all well?" she asks._

"She seems fairly nice," Gwaine declared.

"She's going to die soon, Gwaine," Merlin warned him.

_"Yes, Ma'am," Gregory confirms. "With luck, we should reach Camelot late tomorrow."_

_Lady Helen smiles, "That's good."_

_"I'll be outside if you need me," Gregory offers._

_Lady Helen smiles and nods in farewell. Gregory exits the tent._

_A strange sound is heard. Gregory goes to investigate it._

_"Who's there?" he calls out. "Who's there?"_

_It switches back to Lady Helen, taking off her make-up or something with a towel and mirror in hand. She hears a twig snap and a shadow is walking across her tent again._

_She spins around, frightened again, though not as much as before._

"Uh oh," Gwaine whispered. Everyone shushed him.

_Suddenly, Mary Collins appears in the tent opening._

_Lady Helen, shocked, stands up._

_Mary Collins begins to incant, "Acwele seo mægþ!" She pulls out a poppet and begins to stab it with a knife and Lady Helen gasps. Mary repeats, "Acwele seo mægþ! Acwele seo mægþ! Acwele seo mægþ!"_

_Lady Helen falls down, dead._

"What did that spell mean?" Arthur asked.

"Kill the maiden," Merlin translated.

_Mary Collins throws away the poppet and knife and sits down on Lady Helen's chair. She grabs her necklace and incants something unintelligible, and the jewel begins to glow._

_She quickly transforms into a glamour of Lady Helen._

_She touches her face, smiling, then picks up the mirror. The mirror still shows her normal face._

_The scene changes to black and a voice calls out, "Merlin."_

"Well, that's a bit creepy," Gwaine remarked.

"It was just Kilgharrah," Merlin explained matter-of-factly. "Besides, I thought I had dreamed it then."

_Merlin's eyes are shown, closed, though with twitching eyelids._

_"Merlin," the voice call again._

_Merlin opens his eyes and moves his head._

_The sun is shining through the window._

_Merlin then sits up and stares at the window._

_The scene changes to Merlin walking down the steps into the main chambers, dressed and pulling his jacket on._

_Gaius is dishing out some breakfast._

"Is that what you have for breakfast?" Arthur asked, surprised.

"Yes," Merlin replied. "Not all of us have a royal breakfast, you know."

"It looks disgusting," Arthur further commented, grimacing and wrinkling his nose.

"You've eaten worse," Merlin pointed out. "Like rat?"

Everyone laughed, though some didn't completely understand what Merlin was talking about.

_"I got you some water," Gaius explains. "You didn't wash last night."_

_"Sorry," Merlin apologizes, moving to sit at the table. He spoons up his breakfast. He doesn't look too eager to eat it._

_Gaius is standing behind him, observing him. Then he steps forward and purposefully pushes the water bucket off of the table._

_Merlin instantly turns his head, his eyes flashing gold, and stops the bucket and water in mid-air as he quickly stands up._

_Gaius gasps._

"You never really had a choice, did you?" Arthur sighed.

Merlin shook his head.

_Merlin glances at Gaius and releases the water bucket. It crashes to the floor, spilling the water completely._

_"How did you do that?" Gaius asks, curious. "Did you… incant a spell in your mind?"_

_"I don't know any spells," Merlin denies quickly and truthfully._

_"So what did you do?" Gaius inquires, trying to understand. "There must be something."_

_"It just happens," Merlin explains._

_Gaius stares at the puddle while Merlin grabs a mop and cleans it up._

_"Well, we better keep you out of trouble," Gaius declares. "You can help me until I find some paid work for you."_

Merlin snorted at both statements, "I'm always in trouble. And I found paid work quickly enough by myself."

_Gaius then moves to the table with some medicine stuff and explains, "Here, hollyhock and feverfew for Lady Percival."_

Percival wrinkled his nose and raised his eyebrows at that while everyone lightly laughed.

"Lady Percival," Gwaine snickered. Percival glared at him.

_"And this is for Sir Olwen. He's as blind as a weevil, so warn him not to take it all at once."_

_Merlin picks up the medicines and examines them as he answers, "Okay."_

_"And here," Gaius grabs a plate off of the table with a sandwich on it. Merlin smiles and grabs the sandwich. "Off you go."_

"Wait," Arthur protested, "You didn't even get breakfast! Or wash!"

Merlin just rolled his eyes and smiled.

_Gaius takes the mop from Merlin as Merlin moves to exit the chambers._

_"And Merlin?" Gaius calls before the boy leaves. "I need hardly tell you that the practice of any form of enchantments will get you killed."_

_Merlin nods and leaves._

_He walks down the steps, through the courtyard, and into the palace, searching for Sir Olwen._

_He finds the right place and knocks._

_Sir Olwen immediately opens the door._

"He must have been waiting for you, considering he's blind," Leon pointed out.

Merlin just shrugged, suddenly remembering what it was going to show and trying to hide his blush of embarrassment.

_"Um, I brought you your medicine," Merlin explains softly, handing out the medicine. Sir Olwen nods and reaches out his hand._

_Merlin guides Sir Olwen's hands to Merlin's. As Sir Olwen takes it and starts to gulp it down, Merlin turns and starts, "Gaius said not to drink it all…"_

_He's already drunk it all._

_"I'm sure it's fine," Merlin finishes awkwardly and leaves._

"Merlin!" Gaius chastised.

"What?" Merlin asked. "It was fine! And that was over 8 years ago. I obviously know better now!"

Gaius just sighed.

After everyone laughed at Merlin's expense, Merlin recognized what was about to happen next.

"Oh, come on, here's the beautiful start of a friendship," he gets their attention back towards the Crystal.

_Merlin walks through a gateway._

_"Where's the target?" a very familiar voice mocks._

Arthur grimaced, looking somehow both pleased and mortified at the same time.

Pleased because he remembers fondly what it had been like to meet Merlin, and mortified because he knows he was a prat, he'd admit it now, and now they all had to see it. But, if the majority of Merlin's embarrassing moments were going to be shown, it was only fair that some of his were shown as well.

_It shows Morris standing with the target in his hands and the back of Arthur._

_"It's into the sun," Arthur points out and it finally shows his face._

"Whoa! You look so young!" Gwaine exclaimed.

"Are you going to say that each time?" Arthur asked, irritated.

"Yes," Gwaine nodded.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

_Morris glances up at the sun and decides, "It's not that bright."_

_"A bit like you, then," Arthur immediately counters, smirking. Merlin nods in friendly greeting towards someone, and then turns back to watching it._

"Hmm," Gwaine stroked his beard. "I can see why Merlin said you were more of a prat then."

"At least I'm not anymore, right?" Arthur questioned, hopeful.

"That's debatable," Merlin remarked, expertly avoiding the inevitable kick from Arthur.

_"I'll put the target at the other side, shall I, sire?" Morris offers, then picks up the target._

_The knights behind Arthur laugh and say varying degrees of, "Teach him a lesson."_

_Arthur leans back towards them and states, "This will teach him."_

_He then throws his knife into the target, close to bullseye._

_Morris pulls it down and looks at it._

_"Hey, hang on!" he protests._

_Merlin is very clearly watching now._

_"Don't stop," Arthur orders, gesturing with his hands._

_Morris moves a few steps, grunting, then asks, "Here?"_

_You can hear Arthur's voice declare, "I told you to keep moving," as it shows Guinevere fluffing something out of a window._

"You saw that?" Arthur groaned, putting his head in his hands.

"And I still love you," Guinevere laughed, kissing his neck. "Besides, if I hadn't seen it then I might not ever have been friends with Merlin, at least the way we were, which means that we would definitely not be together."

_Arthur throws another knife and Morris pulls the target up._

_"C'mon!" Arthur exclaims. "Run!"_

_Morris grunts, carrying it and attempting to run._

_"We want some moving target practice," Arthur laughs._

_It zooms in closer on Gwen. She is now watching the scene below unfold._

_Arthur throws a total of five knives into the target before Morris loses his grip and it goes rolling down to Merlin._

_Merlin steps on the target, making Morris unable to pull it back up._

_"Hey, come on, that's enough," Merlin tries to explain to Arthur._

"Here it is!" Gwaine exclaimed loudly.

_Arthur is visibly confused as he asks, "What?"_

_Merlin shook his head, "You've had your fun, my friend."_

_Arthur walks up to him and asks, "Do I know you?"_

_"I'm Merlin," Merlin nicely holds out his hand for Arthur to shake._

_Arthur refuses to shake it as he declares, "So I don't know you."_

_Merlin retracts his hand, "No."_

_"Yet you called me 'friend'," Arthur points out._

"It's called being friendly," Merlin rolled his eyes. "Not that you would have known that then.

_"That was my mistake," Merlin admits._

_"Yes, I think so," Arthur agrees, thinking he's won and smiling._

"What would you have done if I just left then?" Merlin asked, curious.

"Probably just left you alone. You seemed nice enough at the time and you weren't my servant. It could've been an honest mistake, it's happened before," Arthur admitted. "But then you had to get the last word…"

_"I'd never have a friend who could be such an ass," Merlin declares, turning away to leave._

_Arthur scoffs, "Or I one who could be so stupid."_

"And here you are today, best friends," Gwaine grinned.

_Merlin stops._

_"Tell me,_ Mer- _lin, do you know how to walk on your knees?" Arthur asks, stepping closer._

_"No," Merlin answers quickly._

_"Would you like me to help you?" Arthur offers._

_Merlin smirks, "I wouldn't if I were you."_

"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed, now realizing exactly what Merlin meant. "You don't just go around threatening people like that!"

"You threatened me first," Merlin pointed out. "Besides, I was trying to warn you and keep out of trouble. I didn't exactly have the greatest control on my magic then. If it got violent, I might've lashed out with it."

"Still!" Arthur protested.

_"Why, what're you gonna do to me?" Arthur laughs._

_"You have no idea," Merlin states._

_"Be my guest. Come on. Come on," Arthur is goading him, "Come onnnnn."_

"Also, don't rise up to people's bait," Arthur suggested.

"So basically you're telling me not to associate with prats," Merlin rolled his eyes. "I'm afraid I kind of have to. Apparently it's my destiny."

_Merlin tries to swing at Arthur, but Arthur quickly grabs his arm and twists him around._

_Guinevere is still watching._

_"I'll throw you in jail for that," Arthur declares._

_"Well, who do you think you are? The King?" Merlin asks._

_"No, I'm his son, Arthur," Arthur finally tells him._

_The scene changes to the guards throwing Merlin in jail._

_Merlin sits down on the hay and holds his head up._

_The scenes changes yet again to horses riding into the courtyard._

_It is Mary Collins masquerading as Lady Helen. She looks back in the courtyard, and a puddle shows her true reflection._

_She enters the castle, then it switches to her entering the throne room._

_Morgana and Gwen are standing there, Uther is in his seat, but Arthur is nowhere to be seen._

_Mary Collins walks most of the way of the room, but Uther gets out of his seat and meets her to greet her._

_"Lady Helen," he greets. "Thank you so much for coming."_

_She curtsies and replies, "The pleasure is all mine."_

_"How was your journey?" he asks, taking her hand up to his mouth to kiss it._

_She dramatically sighs, "The time it took, sire."_

_"Well, it's always worth the wait," he declares._

_"It will be," she agrees, clutching onto her necklace._

_Next, it is morning and Merlin is sleeping in the dungeons._

_Kilgharrah calls Merlin again, "Merlin."_

_Merlin startles out of sleep and stares suspiciously at the ground, where the voice seems to be coming from._

_At the second "Merlin." he stands up and backs up, staring at the hay._

_"Merlin," the dragon calls a third time, and Merlin moves his head to the ground, his butt sticking up a little ridiculously._

_"Merlin?" Gaius calls. Merlin immediately gets up, relieved, from the ground as Gaius enters the cell._

_Gaius doesn't seem to know exactly what to say and exclaims, "You never cease to amaze me."_

"I take it that isn't a good 'amaze'," Leon laughed.

_"The one thing that someone like you should do is keep your head down. Now what do you do? You behave like an idiot."_

"It works," Merlin pointed out. "Besides, why are you yelling that when there are guards right outside of the cell?"

_"I'm sorry," Merlin genuinely apologizes._

_"You're lucky," Gaius states. "I've managed to pull a few strings to get you released."_

_Merlin grins and gushes, "Oh, thank you! Thank you! I won't forget this."_

_"Well, there is a small price to pay," Gaius explains._

_Merlin looks confused._

_The scene changes and Merlin gasps, "Oh, God!"_

_Apparently the price to pay was being put in the stocks. Merlin looks way too happy as he's pelted with rotten food._

_Gaius walks by, laughing._

"Here's the actually beautiful start of a friendship," Merlin announced, smiling fondly.

"What, with the stocks?" Gwaine joked.

Everyone laughed or grinned while Merlin rolled his eyes and replied, "No, Gwaine, I didn't mean the stocks."

Merlin and Gwen shared a smile, each knowing exactly what was coming next.

_"Thanks!" Merlin calls out to Gaius upon spotting him._

_The people seem to have run out of their load of rotten food._

_Guinevere comes walking up to Merlin._

"Oh, now I see what you were talking about," Gwaine admitted.

_"I'm Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen. I'm the Lady Morgana's maid," Gwen introduces herself._

_"Right," Merlin says, "I'm Merlin." He then awkwardly holds out his hand for her to shake. She shakes it readily with a smile._

_He retracts his hand to its previous position and continues, "Although most people just call me idiot."_

"Ha!" Arthur laughed victoriously. "You said it yourself!"

_Gwen shakes her head quickly, "No, no, I saw what you did. You were so brave."_

Arthur warily eyed his servant, sensing more than just a friendly introduction in Gwen's demeanor.

_"It was stupid," Merlin disagrees._

_"Well, I'm glad you walked away," she admits. "You weren't going to beat him."_

_"Oh, why, I could beat him," he declares._

_"You think?" she asks, not convinced. "Because you don't look like one of these big, muscly kind of fellows."_

_Merlin looks at her awkwardly and says, "Thanks…"_

Everyone laughed at the sheer awkwardness.

_Gwen seems to realize that what she just said isn't particularly nice and quickly adjusts, "No! No! I'm sure you're stronger than you look. It's just, um, Arthur's one of these rough, tough, save-the-world kind of men and… well…"_

_"What?" he asks, curious._

_"You don't look like that," she states._

_Merlin glances around as if to see if anyone was listening, then gestured for her to come closer._

_"I'm in disguise," he whispers._

"Funny how you aren't even lying," Percival shook his head. "How many times were you telling the truth and we just didn't believe you?"

"A lot," Merlin answered. "A lot."

_Gwen giggles, which makes Merlin laugh._

_"Well, it's great you stood up to him," she assures him._

_"You think so?" he inquires, grinning._

_"Arthur's a bully,_

Arthur frowned and glared at the crystal. Not at Guinevere, no, never at Guinevere.

_"And everyone thought you were a real hero."_

_"Oh, yeah?" he asks, not believing it._

_"Mmm-hmm," she nods, confirming it._

_The people with the rotten vegetables have returned._

_"Um, excuse me, Guinevere," Merlin interrupts the moment and pointing towards the people, "My fans are waiting."_

"I wonder what those kids would think, if they remember doing that at all, when we reveal you as a powerful warlock this whole time," Arthur laughed.

"They'd get to say they threw rotten tomatoes at the mighty Emrys!" Gwaine roared in laughter.

"And it's _never_ happening ever again when we reveal me as the sorcerer," Merlin sternly objected.

_After Merlin is pelted with more fruit, the scene changes to Merlin and Gaius in their chambers._

_Merlin is sitting down at the table as Gaius asks, "Do you want some vegetables with that?"_

Arthur snorted, "That is exactly something Merlin would say."

_Merlin laughs, "I know you're still angry with me."_

_Gaius sits down at the table and reminds him, "Your mother asked me to look after you."_

_Merlin nods, "Yes."_

_"What did your mother say to you about your gifts?" Gaius questions._

_"That I was special," Merlin says._

_"You are special," Gaius agrees. "The likes of which I've never seen before."_

_"What do you mean?" Merlin abandons his lunch temporarily to listen to Gaius._

_"Well, magic requires incantations, spells, it takes years to study," Gaius admits. "What I saw you do was… elemental… Instinctive…"_

_Merlin nods, agreeing, then asks, "What's the point if it can't be used?"_

_"That I do not know," Gaius confesses, "You are a question that has never been posed before, Merlin."_

"Not entirely," Merlin explained with a sigh. "There are others who can use it instinctively, but before the Purge they generally were taught before their magic came out. But nobody else could use it since birth, and if they could use it instinctively they couldn't control it as well as I could at that time with still no training."

_Merlin briefly smiles, then narrows his eyes._

_"Did you ever study magic?" he asks Gaius._

_Gaius smoothly avoids the question, saying, "Uther banned all such work twenty years ago."_

Daegal shook his head, "I don't think you're fooling Merlin here."

_"Why?" inquires Merlin._

"You didn't know?" Arthur asked, surprised.

"I'd grown up in a small farming village right outside of Camelot's border. I knew it was banned, on penalty of death, but I didn't know why. Most people in Camelot don't really know why either, do they?" Merlin pointed out.

_"People used magic for the wrong end at that time. It threw the natural order into chaos. Uther made it his mission to destroy everything from back then, even the dragons," Gaius explains._

Leon asked, "But wouldn't trying to destroy all the magic also be detrimental for the natural order?"

"And it isn't the true answer either. While there were quite a few people who used magic selfishly during that time, which is part of how Uther was able to ban it with the people's consent, that was not Uther's reason for doing so," Merlin pointed out.

_"Not all of them?" Merlin asks, surprised._

_"There was one dragon he chose not to kill, kept it as an example," Gaius tells him._

"Didn't you hear that during my father's speech that it had been 20 years since the Great Dragon was captured?" Arthur pointed out.

"I think I was a little more focused on the fact that there was an execution going on and I'd just arrived. Besides, he didn't give any other information on dragons besides that, for all I knew he could've killed Kilgharrah after trapping him, or hadn't caught any others," Merlin replied.

"Fair point," Arthur conceded.

_"He imprisoned it in a cave deep beneath the castle. Where no can free it," Gaius finishes his story._

"Except me," Merlin squeaked, nervously looking around at the rest of the group. They did not resent him for freeing it; they simply nodded towards his statement.

_"Now, eat up. When you're finished, I need you to take a preparation to Lady Helen. She needs it for her voice," Gaius orders._

_Merlin nods and turns back to his lunch._

"Uh oh," Gwaine whispered. Nobody shushed him this time.

"Don't get caught by her," Arthur warned.

Merlin just shrugged sheepishly, knowing what was going to happen.

_The scene switches to Merlin walking through the castle._

"You know, you're actually learning the castle pretty well here," Leon noted.

"I did ask for some directions, but it helped that I could read the signs. And I've always been good with directions, I did navigate lots of tunnels near Ealdor," Merlin explained, shrugging.

"Yeah, and then you couldn't remember them," Arthur pointed out drily.

"I was _unsure_ of them; it wasn't that I couldn't remember them. I hadn't been there in five years at the time," Merlin argued. "I still led us through them, didn't I?"

Arthur begrudgingly nodded as Guinevere nodded easily.

_Merlin opens a door and walk through it without knocking._

"You… You…" Arthur started, shocked, "You have to knock when you're walking into a lady's room!"

"Well, I do now," Merlin replied. "And I didn't get into any trouble. That's all that matters."

_He looks around the chambers, potion in hand. He then glimpses the table and places the potion on it._

_He notices the poppet and picks it up. It is making strange noises._

"Does it normally make those noises?" Percival asked.

"No, I could just sense it because I have magic. It positively reeked of magic," Merlin explained.

_He puts it back down and moves onto a book. He picks it up and examines it, briefly glancing at the door to check that no one's there. He moves like he's going to untie the string around it._

"You don't just rifle through people's things, Merlin," Arthur proclaimed.

"If I didn't, you would be dead, okay?" Merlin pointed out. "I _usually_ don't get caught."

"That's very reassuring," Arthur muttered sarcastically.

_It is shown that Mary Collins is heading back to her chambers. Merlin hears her and moves the stuff back to its original place and turns around._

_Mary Collins enters, eyeing Merlin suspiciously._

_"What are you doing in here?" she asks._

_"Um, I was asked to deliver this," Merlin hands her the potion and narrowly misses seeing the mirror reflect her true face._

Everyone gasped as they saw how close it was.

"What would she have done if you did see?" Arthur wondered aloud.

"Not sure. I'm not entirely sure if she could sense my magic, either. She seemed powerful enough, but she did use the necklace as a conduit," Merlin explained. "And most people with evil intentions seem to have a hard time sensing my power and thus my true identity."

_He smiles nervously. She looks down at the medicine and smiles very, very briefly._

_Merlin quickly leaves the room and she watches._

_After leaving, Merlin glances back, uncertain of what happened._

"Another one of your 'funny' feelings," Arthur muttered.

_He then decides to move._

_It next shows him walking in the courtyard, then the Lower Town._

"Recognize this, Arthur?" Merlin asked, grinning.

Arthur grinned in return, "Do we finally get to see how you cheated in that fight.

Merlin nodded.

_Merlin is walking through the Lower Town when he passes Arthur and his entourage. He tries to inconspicuously keep on walking right past the Prince, but Arthur recognizes him and turns around._

"Did you just walk around with your friends looking for poor, innocent people to torment?" Merlin asked.

Arthur smirked, "Nah, I was searching for you, actually. My 'friends' were really rather boring brats, convenient acquaintances, but at the time I wanted to fit in with them. Notice how I spent significantly less time with them after you became my servant."

"That's because then you didn't have to search for innocent people to torment," Merlin immediately countered.

Arthur rolled his eyes and fondly kicked Merlin just a little.

_"How's your knee walking coming along?" Arthur taunts._

_Merlin ignores him and continues to walk._

_"Oh, don't run away!" Arthur laughs._

_Merlin stops._

_"From you?" he asks without turning around, looking annoyed._

_"Oh, thank God," Arthur declares, "I thought you were deaf as well as dumb."_

_Merlin grins._

"You _are_ enjoying this, Merlin, though you wouldn't admit it," Arthur prodded.

Merlin just smirked.

_He decides to turn around, declaring, "Look, I've told you you're an ass. I just didn't realize you were a royal one."_

_Arthur seemingly concedes that Merlin has a point. Arthur also looks like he is thoroughly enjoying this._

_"Oh," Merlin glances around the guards and taunts, "What are you going to do, got your daddy's men to protect you?"_

_Arthur laughs, "I could take you apart with one blow."_

_"I could take you apart with less than that," Merlin immediately fires back._

"Not legally," Arthur countered currently, laughing, "Though I do look like a bit of a fool here, now knowing what you were meaning."

_"Are you sure?" Arthur asks, mocking him._

_Merlin decides to take off his jacket. Arthur laughs at him._

_One of the knights hands Arthur a mace, which he throws at Merlin with, "Here you go, big man."_

"See, I was looking for you, I came prepared," Arthur pointed out.

_Merlin fails at catching it. He then bends over to pick it up._

_"Come along then," Arthur starts to swing his own mace. "I warn you, I've been trained to kill since birth."_

_"Wow," Merlin doesn't swing his mace just yet so Arthur sets his down. "And how long have you been training to be a prat?"_

_Arthur laughs, "You can't address me like that."_

_"Sorry," Merlin says, not sounding sorry at all. "How-how long have you been training to be a prat, my lord?" He ends it with a mock bow._

_Arthur nods, with no verbal counter, then viciously starts swinging his mace, catching Merlin off guard._

_Merlin backs up and Arthur calmly follows him, swinging the mace around._

_"Come on, then, Merlin," he orders. "Come on!"_

_Merlin continues to back up and backs up into something, getting his mace stuck._

_Arthur is still pursuing him slowly as Merlin pulls it out. Arthur then lunges with the mace just as Merlin gets it free, missing Merlin and instead hitting a tray._

_The scene briefly switches to Gaius looking out of his window, spotting Merlin and Arthur, and moving away from the window, placing down the book he was holding._

_It goes back to Arthur and Merlin fighting. Arthur is still pursuing him relentlessly, though Merlin is decent at dodging._

_Merlin falls onto some food and onto the ground. Arthur jumps over part of a stall to reach him and Merlin darts out of the way._

_He falls to the ground anyway just a few moments later._

_Arthur laughs and taunts, "You're in trouble now."_

_"Oh, God," Merlin gasps, glancing around for something to help him._

_He spots some hooks near Arthur's swinging mace and his eyes flash gold._

"There it is!" Arthur exclaimed. "You cheater, I was even playing you."

Merlin rolled his eyes, "You were too cocky is what you were."

_Arthur's mace wraps around the hooks, and Arthur looks at it in surprise._

_Merlin gets up while Arthur is distracted in untangling his mace. He backs up more strategically, realizing that he can't win with the mace and has to resort to magic._

_Merlin quickly moves a box in the way of Arthur's foot. Arthur rams his foot right into it, stubbing his toe._

_"OW!" he groans, but quickly recovers._

"How did the whole crowd completely miss you using magic?" Arthur asked. "I mean, I was focused on chasing you, but there were quite a few people watching."

"It wasn't that lit up," Merlin pointed out. "And I didn't say any spells so they would've had to have been looking for it."

_Arthur is getting more agitated and lashes out at innocent fruit while trying to get Merlin._

_Merlin hides behind a stall and tightens a rope around Arthur's feet, making Arthur trip._

_Merlin then jumps out of his hiding spot with the mace while Arthur gets back up, shocked._

_Arthur quickly backs up._

_"Do you want to give up?" Merlin asks._

_"To you?" Arthur exclaims, shocked._

_"Do you? Do you want to give up?" Merlin asks, still pursuing the Prince with his mace._

_Arthur backs up and falls over, throwing his hands up in apparent surrender._

_Merlin moves forward, then notices Gaius in the crowd and pauses._

"Never turn your back on an opponent!" the knights shrieked.

_Arthur jumps back up and knocks Merlin down with a broom._

"Technically, we both cheated," Merlin declared. "It was supposed to be a mace fight, not a broom fight."

"There weren't any rules," Arthur protested.

"Exactly. So either we both cheated or neither of us did," Merlin pointed out.

"…Fine. We both cheated. I was an under-handed prat and you're just an idiot," Arthur consented.

_Arthur sweeps the floor triumphantly while Merlin groans on the ground._

_The guards pick Merlin up, ready to throw him back in the dungeon for attacking the Prince._

_"Wait," Arthur orders them, "Let him go. He may be an idiot, but he's a brave one."_

Everyone cheered at Arthur's seemingly change of heart.

_He then turns to Merlin and declares, "There's something about you, Merlin. I can't quite put my finger on it."_

"Maybe magic?" Gwaine suggested cheekily.

"No, not that," Arthur shook his head seriously. "I think it was just Merlin's behavior in general. Nobody else would stand up to me. I liked that. I also learned a lesson that day."

"What?" Merlin asked, curious.

"The crowd was cheering when you were winning, but fell very quiet when I won instead. I'd spent my whole life caring about these people, but I was also a bully. That may have been part of why I let you go, I recognized that I was the one responsible for goading you into it," Arthur declared.

_The scene changes to Gaius reprimanding Merlin, "How could you be so foolish!"_

_Merlin walks ahead of Gaius, not turning around to face him._

_"He needed to be taught a lesson," Merlin tries to explain._

_"Magic must be studied, mastered, and used for good. Not for idiotic pranks," Gaius shouts._

_Merlin turns around and demands, "What is there to master?"_  


"A ton," current Merlin shook his head. "I just couldn't fathom it then just how much I didn't know."

_"I could move objects like that before I could talk!"_

_"Then by now you should know how to control yourself," Gaius counters._

"It was kind of self-defense," Merlin pointed out.

_"I don't want to!" Merlin shouts. "If I can use magic, what have I got? I'm just a nobody, and I always will be."_

"You're not a nobody without your magic, Merlin, don't ever think that," Arthur sternly told him. "I didn't know about the magic for years but I never thought you were just a nobody."

Everyone else nodded in agreeance.

Merlin didn't respond.

_"If I can't use magic, I might as well die," Merlin finishes._

"A bit dramatic there, Merls?" Gwaine asked, raising his eyebrow.

Merlin laughed, his eyes twinkling, "Just a little."

_Merlin stomps up into his bedroom and slams the door. Gaius looks regretfully towards the door._

_Gaius then opens the door with medical supplies in his arms. Merlin is lying, belly-down, on his cot._

_"Merlin, sit up. Take your shirt off," Gaius orders._

_Merlin obeys, taking his shirt off and revealing some bruising and blood on his shoulder._

"Oh," Arthur gaped, "I didn't realize I had hurt you."

"It's alright," Merlin reassured him. "That was years ago."

_"You don't know why I was born like this, do you?" Merlin asks._

_Gaius reaches over with a cloth and applies it to Merlin's shoulder, answering, "No."_

_"I'm not a monster, am I?" Merlin asks, trying to lighten it with a grin._

Everyone gasped, and Guinevere asked seriously, "You don't think that, do you, Merlin?"

Merlin quickly shook his head. "Not anymore. It was… hard, then, though, to think any different."

_Gaius removes the cloth from Merlin's shoulder and orders, "Don't ever think that."_

_"Then why I am like this?" Merlin asks desperately. "Please, I need to know. Why?"_

_Gaius sighs, "Maybe there's someone with more knowledge than me."_

"There were a lot of people," Gaius declared. "I just never even dreamed you were who you are."

_Merlin disagrees, "If you can't tell me, no one can."_

_Gaius doesn't know how to respond to this. He moves over to grab a bottle out of his medicine bag._

_He hands it to Merlin and orders, "Take this. It will help with the pain."_

Arthur winced.

_Merlin took it from his hand and downed it quickly, showing no sign that it tasted bad. He hands the bottle back to Gaius and Gaius stands up, off the bed. He leaves the room quietly._

_The scene changes to Uther and Mary Collins eating dinner together._

_"Will you sing for me tonight?" Uther requests._

_"You will have to wait, sire," she refuses._

_"You will not deny me," he smiles._

_"I am saving myself for my performance tomorrow," she explains with a smirk._

_They both chuckle._

_"Will everyone be there?" she asks._

_"Who would dare to miss it?" Uther responds, placing his cup down._

_She is chewing on something as she asks, "How about your son?"_

_Uther just makes an "uh," sound._

_"It seems a shame not to have met him," she declares._

"Really," Gwaine said sarcastically. "It's not like you want to kill him or anything.

_"That's Arthur," Uther states simply._

Merlin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"You hardly missed anything when I was your servant," he pointed out.

"Uh…" Arthur started. "That's kind of… um… because… well, I wanted to drag you along to all the boring stuff since you'd get so annoyed with them, and a part of me wanted to impress you, to earn your respect, showing you how great a Prince I was."

"So what did you do before I came along, then?" Merlin asked.

"I trained really hard, and I always tried to please my father, but I wasn't exactly studious…" Arthur explained.

_"Poor child," she states._

"That's not suspicious at all," Gwaine drawled.

"Could be because we already know who she is, though, that makes it so obvious," Leon pointed out.

_"Hmm?" Uther asks._

_"Poor child," she repeats, "It can't have been easy to, to grow up without a mother."_

_"No," he agrees._

_"Mm. That bond between mother and son," she says deliberately. "It's so hard to replace."_

"Could she be any more obvious?" Daegal asked.

_"Hasn't been easy," he agrees again._

_"I'm sure," she declares, then smiles. "Perhaps if you found someone? If you remarried?"_

Arthur, Guinevere, Gaius and Leon shuddered at the remembrance of a certain event.

Merlin just laughed, "I don't think that worked out well."

"Shut up, Merlin!" Arthur ordered.

_She giggles, "I'm sure you would have the pick of any lady in the kingdom."_

_Uther huffed a laugh and picked up his goblet again, "Well, perhaps I'll find love again. But I'm afraid it's too late to replace Arthur's mother."_

_"Yes," she agrees, moving to pick up her own goblet, "It's certainly too late for Arthur."_

"She can be more obvious!" Gwaine exclaimed.

"Shhhh!" Arthur shushed him again.

_The scene changes to Merlin sleeping in his bedroom._

_"Merlin," the dragon calls yet again._

_Merlin wakes up._

_"Merlin."_

_Merlin sits up quickly, then gets out of bed, pulling on his boots._

_He descends down the stairs, pulling his jacket on. Gaius is snoring loudly in the main chambers, with a candle still lit._

_Merlin tries to sneak past him and knocks into something, knocking it to the floor with a loud crash._

_Gaius's snoring stops abruptly, then continues as he shifts in his sleep._

_Merlin begins to move again, but then changes his mind briefly._

_He silently walks closer to Gaius and uses magic to move Gaius's blanket up, covering him more completely._

"Thank you," Gaius smiled.

_Merlin smiles._

_Then he quickly leaves the chambers._

_In the dark courtyard, the dragon calls again to lead him, "Merlin."_

_The call leads him to the close to the dungeons. Merlin walks down most of the staircase and notices guards playing dice._

_His eyes flash gold and the dice go flying off the table._

_The guards look at each other, confused, and one stands up to grab the dice._

_The guard is nearly about to grab them when the dice suddenly dart further away._

_He tries again. And again._

_The other guard finally gets up to join him in retrieving the runaway dice._

"Are the guards really that easily distracted?" Arthur asked, surprised.

Everyone else nodded fervently.

_Merlin sneaks past them, grabbing a torch and lighting it. He finds a dark staircase._

_Kilgharrah calls again, "Merlin."_

_Merlin walks down the steps, and when he reaches the bottom, Kilgharrah calls again, "Merlin,", sounding much closer._

_Merlin turns to the left and walks to another room. Then he turns to the right._

"Wow, you're brave for going down there on just your third night. That looks a little creepy," Gwaine declared.

"Or stupid, considering that you're following someone randomly calling to you," Arthur decided.

"He knew my name," Merlin pointed out. "And I kinda figured it was the dragon when I was going further down."

_"Merlin," the dragon sounds even closer._

_Merlin walks down some steps and finally enters the cave, on a small ledge._

_He is looking around the huge cave, trying to find whoever was calling to him. A chuckle can be heard._

_"Where are you?!" he calls out._

_Suddenly, the dragon swoops down and lands next to him. Merlin backs up, startled._

_"I'm here," the dragon declares, settling more comfortably on the rock that it has perched on._

_Merlin looks uncomfortable but also curious as he studies the dragon._

_"How small you are," the dragon observes aloud, "For such a great destiny."_

_"Why? What do you mean?" Merlin asks. "What destiny?"_

_"Your gift, Merlin," Kilgharrah explains, "was given to you for a reason."_

_"So there is a reason," Merlin breathes, excited._

_"Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion," the dragon starts to explain._

_"Right…" Merlin doesn't seem convinced._

_"But he faces many threats, from friend and foe alike," Kilgharrah warns._

_"I don't see what this has to with me," Merlin declares._

"Everything," Arthur said simply.

Merlin looked like he was holding back a laugh as Kilgharrah continued to speak.

_"Everything," Kilgharrah tells him._

"Arthur thinks like a dragon?" Gwaine laughed.

"Well, he is a Pen- _dragon,_ " Merlin pointed out.

Arthur scowled.

_"Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there'll be no Albion."_

Arthur nodded.

_"No," Merlin interrupts, "No, you've this wrong."_

_"There is no right or wrong. Only what is and what isn't," the dragon states._

_"But I'm serious!" Merlin exclaims. "If anyone wants to go and kill him, they can go ahead. In fact, I'll give them a hand!"_

"Yet you turned around and saved my life…" Arthur pointed out.

"I was kind of joking. You proved you weren't completely horrible when you let me go," Merlin explained. "I still detested you, though."

_The dragon just laughs at Merlin, "None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin, and none of us can escape it."_

"That's kind of ominous…" Percival noted.

_"No, no, no way. No, no. There must be another Arthur, because this one's an idiot," Merlin disagreed._

"That's rich, coming from you," Arthur snorted.

_"Perhaps it's your destiny to change that," the dragon suggested._

"Definitely," Gwaine declared.

_The dragon then flies away, the chain rattling._

_"Wait," Merlin protests. "Wait! Stop! Wait! I need to know more!"_

_The dragon just ignores him and flies out of sight._

"Does he always do that?" Leon asked.

Merlin nodded, "He is the most frustrating lizard you've ever seen."

_The scene changes and a rooster crows. Gaius opens the door to Merlin's bedroom._

_He sighs and picks something up from the floor._

_"Hoi!" he yells, startling Merlin. "Have you seen the state of this room?"_

_Merlin shrugs and says, "It just happens."_

_"By magic?" Gaius asks jokingly._

_"Yeah."_

_"Well, you can clear it up without magic," Gaius throws something on top of the boy. "Then I want you to get me some herbs. Henbane, wormwood, and sorrel. And deliver this to Morgana. The poor girl's suffering from nightmares." He then picks up something else and tosses it on Merlin._

Most everyone winced at the nightmares' mention.

_"Hmm," Merlin looks at the bottle, "I know the feeling."_

_It switches to Merlin walking through the castle yet again on an errand._

_He finds Morgana's chambers and enters without knocking. Morgana is inside, but Guinevere isn't anywhere to be seen._

Merlin and Gwen shared a look while Arthur grumbled, "Knocking, Merlin."

_"You know, I've been thinking about Arthur. I wouldn't touch him with a lance pole," Morgana states._

"Likewise," Arthur muttered.

_"Pass me that dress, will you, Gwen?"_

Everyone seemed to suddenly realize Merlin's predicament and burst out laughing.

"This is what you get for not knocking!" Arthur exclaimed, holding his side as he laughed.

_Merlin looks a little startled, then sets the bottle down and picks up the dress as Morgana undresses behind the screen, talking, "I mean the man's a total jouster. And just because I'm the king's ward, that doesn't mean I have to accompany him to the feast, does it?"_

"Or king's daughter," Leon pointed out. "Wow, that's even worse. Was your father pushing for his two children to fall in love?"

Arthur looked like he might puke as he stated, "I didn't even _want_ to accompany her."

_Merlin passes her the dress as Morgana repeats, "Well, does it?"_

_Merlin, realizing he has to answer, gives a high-pitched, "Mmm, mmm."_

Everyone laughed some more.

_"If he wants me to go, then he should invite me. And he hasn't," she declares._

"That's because I didn't care if she went!" Arthur protested.

_"So do you know what that means?" she asks._

_"Mmm, mmm," Merlin responds, attempting to leave without her noticing._

_"Where are you?" she asks, suspicious._

_Quickly, Merlin pulls up a cloak to hide himself and answers with a high-pitched, "Here."_

In between laughing,

_Morgana seems convinced, and continues, "It means I'm going by myself."_

_Merlin pulls down the cloak and decides it's time to leave._

_"I need some help with this fastening," Morgana admits. "Gwen?"_

All of the knights burst out in raucous laughter.

_Merlin is entirely unsure of what to do, looking like he wants to bolt out the door but is frozen in place._

_Guinevere enters the chambers at that moment and declares, confused at Merlin's presence, "I'm here."_

_Merlin quickly turns around, relieved._

"I've never seen you look so relieved to see me," Guinevere noted, laughing.

"Well, generally you catch me in the most awkward situations," Merlin grumbled good-naturedly. "Even more so than Arthur has."

_Merlin exhales and gestures with his hands to silently portray what was happening._

_Guinevere nods, understanding, and moves to help Morgana._

_She looks back at Merlin with a smile as Merlin prepares to leave and grins at her._

_Merlin then briskly leaves and Morgana comes out from behind the changing screen._

_"So, it's whether I wear this little tease," she then spins around with a dress in front of her to reveal, "Or give them a night they'll really remember."_

_Gwen gives a huff of laughter at this statement._

_It is nighttime again, and a servant, who current Gwen remembers as Bronwen, is carrying a basketful of fruit._

_She knocks on Mary Collins's door, and Mary Collins opens up._

_"Lady Helen," she greets eagerly, and bobs her head respectfully, "Compliments of the king."_

_Mary Collins smiles and invites, "Come in."_

"Why'd she do that?" Gwaine asked.

"She wasn't entirely evil. She was just heartbroken and her grief led her to extreme methods," Merlin defended her.

_Mary Collins eyes the fruit and declares, "So sweet. How will I ever repay him?"_

_Bronwen is busy cleaning up, as she is a servant and that is her job, and replies adoringly, "When he hears you sing, well, that'll be more than enough, won't it?"_

_She tends to the fire as she adds, "I'm really looking forward to the performance."_

_"So am I," Mary Collins agrees, deciding to bite into her apple._

_"I love singing, you know," Bronwen declares._

"She's very talkative for a servant," Leon observed aloud.

"Merlin's pretty talkative," Arthur countered.

"Yes," Gwaine conceded. "But not _that_ talkative with random nobles."

"She did say she likes singing, though, and Lady Helen was supposed to be the best in the area," Merlin pointed out. "Not that I ever got to actually hear her."

_"I sing all the time. My betrothed says I have the voice of a fallen angel," Bronwen moves towards the mirror to take the cloth off of it._

"Oh, no," Guinevere whimpered. "We always wondered what happened to her."

_Bronwen sees the true reflection of Mary Collins and looks back at her fearfully, perhaps remembering the old woman from the execution four days prior._

_Mary Collins just continues to hold her apple, pretending that nothing is wrong._

_Bronwen starts to move quickly towards the door but Mary Collins catches her by the arm and hums._

"Too late, too late!" Gwaine yelled, slamming a fist onto the floor.

_The servant's life visibly drains out of her. She falls to the ground, dead._

_Mary Collins doesn't seem too distracted by this and glances back at the mirror._

_The scene changes to the feast._

_Gaius and Merlin enter, and Gaius nods to other people in greeting pleasantly. Merlin just kind of follows him._

_Arthur is shown talking with his 'pals', and you can hear Merlin's name in the conversation. Arthur then gestures a punch in the gut and the guys laugh._

"That is not what happened at all," Merlin protested.

"Well, obviously, we know now what happened," Arthur rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to make it more impressive to them."

_Merlin glances at Arthur and frowns, unhappy._

_Arthur and his guys then turn around to look at something._

_Morgana is entering the feast. She has apparently decided to go for the "give them a night they'll really remember option". She looks absolutely stunning._

_"God have mercy," Arthur declares._

_Everyone is staring at Morgana as she passes. Including Merlin._

"She always used to pull me towards her. A mix of magic and hormones," Merlin defended his previous actions. "Besides, I clearly wasn't the only one. At least I wasn't _related_ to her."

"Hey!" Arthur protested.

_"Merlin," Gaius reprimands. "Remember, you're here to work."_

_Merlin nods, understanding, and Gaius turns to leave. Merlin continues to watch Morgana as soon as Gaius's back is turned._

_Arthur strolls up to Morgana, and the lady that she was talking to leaves._

_Gwen goes up to Merlin and says, "She looks great, doesn't she?"_

_"Yeah," Merlin definitely agrees._

_Gwen shakes her head as she declares, "Some people are just born to be queen."_

"No!" the knights shouted while Arthur decided to go the mushy route.

"You, not her," he proclaimed, kissing her hair.

"Get a room, you two!" Merlin moaned.

"This is our room," Guinevere pointed out with a giggle.

_"No," Merlin immediately disagrees._

"We agree, Merlin. We totally agree," Gwaine declared.

_"I hope so, one day," Guinevere says, then adds quickly, "Not that I'd want to be her. Who'd want to marry Arthur?"_

The knights and Daegal laughed their heads off as Arthur looked offended, Gwen looked embarrassed, Merlin smirked, and Gaius just observed it all.

_"Oh, come on, Gwen, I thought you liked those real rough, tough, save-the-world kind of men," Merlin declares._

"Thank you, Merlin," Arthur said semi-genuinely.

"You predicted the future, Merlin. The future! And you didn't even like Arthur then!" Gwaine laughed.

_"No, I like much more ordinary men like you," Gwen protests._

"Was there something between you two?" Arthur asked, suspicious and eyeing his wife and best friend warily.

Merlin looked visibly confused for a few seconds then denied loudly, "No! It's-it's Gwen! She's more like a sister to me! I would never think of her like that!"

Guinevere then laughed, confessing, "I… may have had a crush on him, but he was completely oblivious. And it brought me to you, anyway, Arthur."

_Merlin laughs, "Believe me, Gwen, I’m not ordinary."_

_"No, I didn't mean you," Gwen tries to explain. "Obviously, not you. Just, you know, I like much more ordinary men. Like you."_

"That's basically the same thing," Gwaine pointed out.

_"Thanks," Merlin says awkwardly. They both turn away._

_The scene switches to Mary Collins, twiddling with her necklace and humming. She stands up and walks over the dead body of Bronwen and leaves the chambers._

_Then horns blare and everyone at the feast gets into their respective seats. Uther enters._

_He starts speaking, "We have enjoyed 20 years of peace and prosperity."_

Merlin snorted.

_"It has the brought the kingdom and myself many pleasures. But few can compare with the honor of introducing, Lady Helen of Mora."_

_Everyone claps and Mary Collins is on a stage._

_She begins to sing, "Blah khien barrah fweelah. Blah khien aiza krum. Aloe khio bragam harah eefnell. Broe floe mesing lah." At this point, people are beginning to fall asleep. "Breelooyah," she continues, and Merlin realizes that everyone else is falling asleep. He quickly covers his ears._

"Was that what actually kept you awake or was it your magic?" Arthur asked.

"It was my magic, but I’m sure not hearing the incantation did help," Merlin explained.

_"Naaadyru," she is still singing, and most people are asleep at this point. "Broilin sar akhwah, roe hagroe nonestroe," the hall darkens. "Broilin sar akhwah, mortsin danah dradeh." Cobwebs are beginning to appear over everyone. "Broilin sar akhwah, noe…"_

_It zooms in on Arthur's sleeping face as Mary Collins steps closer, her eyes glued onto the Prince. She continues, "Weeben proe," as Merlin notices her gaze on Arthur and looks between them, seeming to make a decision. "Proe sah yakmah, haryay nakhah." She then pulls out a knife, and Merlin looks once more at Arthur. "AGAH! MADAH! SADAH! HAGAH!"_

_She pulls back the knife to throw it when Merlin's eyes flash gold and the chandelier collapses on her._

"So that's how you did it," Arthur said. "Would you have saved my life if the dragon hadn't told you about destiny?"

"Probably. I didn't hate you that much," Merlin admitted.

_She falls down and Merlin uncovers his ears. Slowly, everyone else wakes up, pulling at the cobwebs and looking around in confusion._

"Did you guys never question the convenient chandelier?" Merlin asked.

"We never thought a sorcerer would save my life," Arthur pointed out. "So we figured either it was an accident on her part or the chandelier just luckily fell down."

_Uther stands up and stares in shock at Mary Collins, her glamour is removed._

_Arthur stands up as well when Mary Collins regains some strength, pulls herself up, and desperately throws the knife at him._

_Arthur just gapes at it and stands still._

_Merlin's eyes flash gold and he starts to run towards Arthur._

"What did you do?" Arthur asked.

"I reacted instinctively and slowed the knife down so that I could reach you in time," Merlin explained. "I'm not entirely sure how I did it. My magic just wants to protect you, apparently."

_The knife is whirling in the air straight towards Arthur, but Merlin reaches him and pulls him back just in time. Uther turns towards Arthur just as Arthur and Merlin crash onto the floor and the knife embeds itself straight into Arthur's chair. If Arthur had been there, he would certainly have been killed._

_Arthur immediately sits back up and stares at it._

"That was one of the first times I knew that my life had been attempted on, so I kind of froze," Arthur admitted. "Merlin showed up in Camelot at the exact right time."

_Everyone looks in shock at what just happened. Mary Collins collapses, dead._

_Arthur and Merlin are now standing and Merlin moves around Arthur. Arthur seems to remember that he had been saved and turns to see that it was Merlin who had saved him. Arthur stares at him, at a loss of words. Uther approaches them._

_"You saved my boy's life," Uther addresses Merlin. "A debt must be repaid."_

_Merlin doesn't look happy by being addressed by Uther and stammers, "Well…"_

_"Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded," Uther assures him._

_"No, honestly, you don't have to, your highness," Merlin protests quietly._

"I was so shocked," Arthur admitted. "You called me a prat and an ass to my face and didn't seem to care that I was the prince and then you were so respectful towards my father. I thought at the time it was something I did wrong… now I realize it was something I kind of did right."

Merlin nodded, "I learned to respect you fairly quickly, in my own way, but I never respected your father. I feared him."

_"No, absolutely," Uther refuses. "This merits something quite special."_

"Being made a servant is 'special'," Merlin scoffed.

"It was better than other things," Arthur pointed out. "That was your, what, fourth or fifth day in Camelot and you got one of the highest serving positions as manservant to the prince."

_"Well…" Merlin doesn't know what to say._

_"You shall be rewarded a position in the royal household," Uther declares, now grasping Arthur's shoulder. "You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant."_

_Arthur's brain has caught up to him with what happened and he exclaims, "Father!" as everyone claps._

_Gaius is grinning while Guinevere has an "oh boy" look on her face._

_Merlin and Arthur stare at each other and then quickly turn away._

"I'm pretty sure I was more displeased with the turn of events at the time," Merlin declared. "You would get to boss me around."

Arthur just grinned.

_The scene changes to candlelight. Merlin is sitting in his bedroom, staring thoughtfully._

_Gaius enters with a bundle in his arms._

_"Seems you're a hero," he declares, moving closer towards Merlin._

"You know, I was considered a hero for standing up to Arthur and then considered a hero for saving Arthur. Those two seem like they should be contradictory," Merlin pointed out.

_"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Merlin asks, slightly jokingly._

_"No," Gaius disagrees strongly. "I knew it from the moment I met you. You saved my life, remember?"_

_"But, that was magic," Merlin points out._

_Gaius nodded, "And now it seems we've finally found a use for it."_

_"What do you mean?" Merlin questions._

_"I saw how you saved Arthur's life," Gaius explains._

_"Ah, no," Merlin shook his head._

_"Perhaps that's its purpose," Gaius states._

_Merlin sighs, "My destiny."_

_Gaius agrees, "Indeed."_

_Then he motioned towards the bundle in his hands and informed Merlin, "This book was given to me when I was your age. But I have a feeling it will be of more use to you than it was to me."_

_Merlin grabs the bundle and unwraps the cloth. It is a book. Merlin unlocks the clasps and opens the book, glancing at it._

_Merlin gasps, surprised, "But this is a book of magic."_

_"Which is why you must keep it hidden," Gaius instructs._

_"I will study every word," Merlin promises with a grin._

_Knocks sound on the door and a guard calls out, "Merlin? Prince Arthur wants you right away."_

"When doesn't he?" Merlin grumbled.

_"Your destiny's calling," Gaius declares wryly. "You better find out what he wants."_

_Merlin nods, disappointed, and puts the book away. He looks back at Gaius with a grateful grin. Then he moves to tend to Arthur._

The crystal flashed, then it went blank.

"That's the end of the first one," Merlin explained, vanishing the display.

"And that's how it all began," Gwaine dramatically declared.

"That one really wasn't that exciting; we knew most of what was in it," Arthur pointed out. "I’m assuming you do more secret things in later episodes?"

"Oh, yes," Merlin assured him. "Definitely."

"So are we going to watch the next one tomorrow or something?" Guinevere asked.

"Let's leave it up to a vote," Arthur suggested. "All in favor of watching another one tonight, raise your right hand. All in favor of watching the next one tomorrow, raise your left hand."

Arthur raised his right hand, while Guinevere raised her left.

"Ah, the couple is divided," Gwaine remarked, raising his right hand.

Merlin and Gaius raised their left hands.

Leon, Percival, and Daegal seemed to be contemplating it.

"Wait," Leon pointed out. "There's an even number of us. We could come to a tie."

"Let's see first," Arthur ordered.

Eventually, Leon, Percival, and Daegal decided to raise their hands at the same time so that the others' decisions didn't affect their own.

Daegal raised his right hand, but Leon and Percival raised their left.

"Watching the next one tomorrow it is," Arthur sighed. "What is the next one?"

"Uhh…" Merlin started. "Remember the guy with the snake shield?"

Arthur blanked for a few moments, then groaned as he put his head in his hands, "Don't tell me you saved me from _him_ , too!"

"Alright, then I won't tell you," Merlin replied cheekily.

Arthur just groaned some more.

"Oh, by the way, Merlin, what's the translation for the song?" Gwaine asked.

Merlin translated, "Lovely night has come to us, lovely night, soft and dark; the lovely night that ends a long and hard, weary day; so rest... Lay your body down, forget your life. Spiders of the night come, spin your silky webs. Spiders of the night come, bind them in their sleep. Now, spiders of the night, spin! Wrapped in your shroud, dead to the world... just like my son: dead, dead, dead, DEAD!"

"That's a bit… dark," Percival admitted. Everyone nodded in agreeance.

"Well," Merlin yawned and stretched. "Goodnight then?"

"Yeah, goodnight," Leon yawned in response. Yawning is just contagious that way.

Leon, Percival, Gwaine, Gaius, and Daegal left until it was just Arthur, Guinevere, and Merlin.

"Merlin," Arthur addressed him, yawning. "Leave the crystal here. I don't want you getting distracted by it in your own room and it makes more sense for it to be found in the King's chambers."

Merlin, remembering the time that he had seen the future through the Crystal of Neahtid, shuddered and agreed, "Sounds good to me. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

*****

**Author's Note**

Hope you enjoyed it.

I wanted to keep the normal Merlin intro, if you couldn't tell, but had to mix it up a little bit. I decided to leave out what Kilgharrah says because it's pulling from people's memories and technically Kilgharrah never says the "no young man" part in the show to someone.

In my version of the intro, I decided to give Merlin a last name because it felt awkward writing Pendragon four times in a row and no other last names LOL. Ambrosius is now his last name, as well as Balinor's and Hunith's.

I never realized until I was writing this that Kilgharrah was leading Merlin to where he was. Whenever Merlin has different options of where to go to find the dragon, he calls out to him and Merlin just turns in the correct way.

This seemed to be taking forever on my main laptop because I had to watch part of the episode, then pause it and type a little, then watch it again. But then I remembered that I had two laptops LOL. So I've got the older one with Merlin on it and the newer one with OneNote. It's a lot quicker that way.

Now that I've done the first episode, I realize just how long these are going to take so hopefully I'm not late again.

Remember to leave any requests for specific reactions in future episodes in the comments :).

Next episode, Valiant, comes next Friday!


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